Author: Steven Sahiounie

Russia’s second-largest bank opened a representative office in Iran to facilitate inter-bank communications between the neighboring countries. Moscow and Iran are moving forward with their mutual goal to end US hegemony over financial transactions and the international monetary systems, the latest step of which saw the opening of the first representative office of a Russian bank in Iran. The International Trade Bank – VTB Bank – is Russia’s second-largest bank and is co-owned between the private and public sectors, but with majority shares held by the state, The new step will further develop interbank communications between the Western-sanctioned neighboring countries.…

The ethereum (ETH) balance held by exchanges has declined to a new five-year low of 17,945,575.311 ETH. The number of ETH wallet addresses holding 100+ coins has also reached a six-month low of 46,858, data shows. Despite the current correction being witnessed by bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies, the latest on-chain data released by blockchain analytics company, Glassnode, shows that investors remain quite bullish on Vitalik Buterin’s ethereum (ETH). Per the researchers, ETH balance on exchanges has hit a new 5-year low of 17,945,575.311. While the exact cause of this decline may be unknown, several factors could be responsible. The…

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency, is facing difficulties in surpassing the significant resistance level at $27,500. Despite recent bullish momentum, Bitcoin’s upward movement has been impeded by the persistent downward trendline. The market sentiment remains cautious as traders closely monitor Bitcoin’s performance, waiting for a decisive breakthrough or a potential retracement. The next price movements will likely be influenced by the ability of Bitcoin to overcome these obstacles and establish a new direction. Tether Allocates Millions to Bitcoin as Part of its Reserves Diversification Plan On Wednesday, Tether, the organization behind USDT, the largest stablecoin by total market cap, announced its intention to acquire…

Asia-Pacific markets rose on hopes of U.S President Joe Biden and congressional leaders inching closer to a deal to raise the U.S. debt ceiling and avoid a default. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said that a “better process” is now in place for further talks, saying it’s “possible to get a deal by the end of the week.” Biden shortened his trip to Asia to focus on the negotiations, the White House said. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 rose 1.6%, leading gains in the region and closing at 30,573.93 and the Topix was up 1.14% to close at 2,157.85 as investors further digested Japan’s trade data for April…

Dmitry Peskov also stressed that, “it is very important to understand that the fate of the deal is still in the hands of those with whom the UN should agree on the Russian part of the deal” The Russian side has extended the Black Sea grain deal for another two months, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. “We can confirm that the Russian side has also decided to extend the so-called Black Sea [grain] deal for a period of two months,” Peskov said. He added that, “there is a relative result in the negotiations with the participation of…

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Lebanese Caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrived in Jeddah to participate in the 32nd session of the Arab League Council meeting at the summit level. SANA correspondents noted that an intense organizing movement is taking place in Jeddah city, starting from decorating the roads with the flags of the Arab countries participating in the work of the Summit, to taking strict security measures appropriate for this important event, in addition to preparing all technical and logistical matters for the Summit venue and its media center. According to initial information, about…

Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleg Salyukov reported to the defense minister that the troops were being trained at practice ranges under the direction of officers with combat experience gained in the special military operation in Ukraine Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu inspected the contract-enlisted personnel’s combat training at practice ranges of the Western Military District, the Defense Ministry reported on Thursday. “Russian Defense Minister Army General Sergey Shoigu inspected the combat training of the contract-enlisted personnel at practice ranges of the Western Military District,” the ministry said. Ground Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleg Salyukov reported to the defense minister that the troops were…

The global debt pile grew by $8.3 trillion in the first quarter to a near-record high of $305 trillion as the global economy faced a “crisis of adaptation” to rapid monetary policy tightening by central banks, according to a closely-watched report from the Institute of International Finance. The finance industry body said the combination of such high debt levels and rising interest rates has driven up the cost of servicing that debt, triggering concerns about leverage in the financial system. Central banks around the world have been hiking interest rates for over a year in a bid to rein in…

Dmitry Peskov reiterated that the principle of reciprocity and the principle of an appropriate response to unfriendly steps would continue to prevail in relations Russia will not let the unfriendly actions of other countries go unanswered, adhering to the principles of reciprocity and responding appropriately, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday. Speaking about the restrictions placed on the use of the bank accounts of the Finnish embassy and consulate general in Russia, the Kremlin spokesman pointed out that, “this is not an initiative of the Russian side.” “We are only responding to the situation created by the authorities…

A state owned energy company imported 65,000 tons of supercooled natural gas from the UAE China has unloaded its first cross-border cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) settled in yuan, the state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) announced on Tuesday. The company said it purchased 65,000 tons of LNG from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The move is the latest sign of the yuan’s growing presence on the international stage, as conditions for settling oil and gas trade in the Chinese currency become increasingly mature, CNOOC said. As part of its de-dollarization strategy, Beijing has been promoting settlements in…